


And When The Dust Falls Away

by SerpentInRed



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-15 22:51:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11815836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentInRed/pseuds/SerpentInRed
Summary: Past lives will always affect one's present lifetime, both in negative and positive ways. She didn't truly understand this concept until a can of worms got unintentionally opened. When the dust covering memories from thousands of years ago, she finds out that perhaps there are some things that should be left unexplored, especially stories without conclusions. Written for the Senshi/Shitennou Reverse Mini Bang 2017.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Senshi/Shitennou Reverse Mini Bang 2017. Huge thanks to all the mods who set this up. Huge thanks to my betas, CharlieChaplin2, Galaxylily, and Thalia! Huge, huge thanks to mochibuni, for her beautiful artwork which was the inspiration to this fic.
> 
> Thoughts will be in italics. Present time things—or better known as scenes to normal, coherent, and intelligent beings not named Serp—will be in regular typing. This is more anime/manga than Crystal, I guess? I mixed and matched details from both, but I don’t think it’ll be too hard to follow where I got what. I think.

Credits: [mochibuni](mochibuni.tumblr.com)

**And When The Dust Falls Away**

**Chapter 1**

The birds chirped merrily as Makoto Kino ignored the honking horns of cars that were forced to stop as she sprinted across the road. With her bookbag in one hand and a large yet delicately wrapped lunchbox in the other, she made another turn as she ran down the sidewalk at breakneck speed.

“Mako-channnnnn!”

The voice of her Princess, better known as Usagi Tsukino in this lifetime, halted her in her steps.

“Usagi-chan!” Makoto called back, and in spite of being nearly late for class, she couldn’t stop the grin from appearing on her face as she readjusted her speed so that Usagi could catch up with her. “Late again, eh?”

“Luna didn’t wake me up,” Usagi panted as she ran alongside with Makoto.

The aforementioned cat stuck her head out of Usagi’s bookbag and protested, “Yes, I did! You _threw_ a pillow at my head and went right back to sleep.”

Usagi stuck out her tongue at Luna, causing Makoto to snort.

“Minna-san!” another voice called out this time.

Even without turning their heads, Makoto and Usagi both chorused, “Minako-chan.”

Sure enough, the bubbly blonde soon caught up with them, looping one arm around each of her best friends’ and forcing Makoto to slow down to something between a jog and a quick walk.

“Glad I made it,” Minako said, flashing each of them a mega-watt smile.

“We’re not there yet, Minako-chan,” Makoto said with a grimace.

“Nope, we’re not there yet, but if we have to get yelled at or suffer through some other kinds of punishment that were designed to torture beautiful young maidens like ourselves until we break down and become miserable, bitter hags who would forever remain single, we will still have one another, yes?” Minako asked in her usual dramatic way.

“I think Usagi-chan’s opted out of that ‘miserable, bitter hags who would forever remain single’ option already, hasn’t she?” Makoto asked with a wink towards the girl in question.

A blush appeared on Usagi’s cheeks. “Mako-chan!” she said in half-hearted protest.

“Oh, Mako-chan, why must you wound innocent souls like mine in such a terrible way?” Minako asked, “Especially so early in the morning!”

“‘Innocent souls’?” Makoto scoffed playfully. “With acting like that, you should change your resume from actress to comedian.”

Usagi giggled as Minako unlooped her arm from Makoto’s and waved her hand. “You evil woman! I shall borrow one of Rei-chan’s ofudas and banish you!”

Minako’s antics caused Makoto to laugh and when she stopped, she noticed how Usagi had suddenly quieted down with a thoughtful look on her face.

“What’s the matter, Usagi-chan?” Makoto asked.

“Oh! Nothing!” Usagi answered a bit too quickly with a brilliant smile on her face. “Just thinking about yesterday’s test.”

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Minako said, slapping the back of her hand to her forehead. “The teachers really have nothing to do other than to sit around and write awful tests to fail us all. This is why seventy-five percent of teachers are single.”

“That’s not even a real statistic,” Makoto countered just as the morning sun shot a glare of light directly into her eyes.

“Who cares? The reality is probably even more horrifying,” Minako said.

But Makoto wasn’t really listening as she lifted her hand to block the beam of sunlight from burning away her retinas. She wasn’t sure, but for a second there, when the light initially blinded her, she thought something flash through her mind. The harder she tried to grasp onto that feeling, the further away it got from her.

_What was that?_

It was a strange feeling that Makoto couldn’t brush away. It felt like she’d been in a vivid dream, only for her to forget it all the moment she woke up, no matter how much they’d wanted to remember it.

It felt like a memory that had been buried away by the sands of time.

“Mako-chan?” Usagi called out, noticing the faraway look in her friend’s eyes.

Makoto snapped out of her stupor and looked down at her Princess.

“Are you okay?” Usagi asked.

Even Minako had stopped and was now looking at her with concern.

“No, I’m fine. It’s just … I don’t know. For a moment there, when the sun shone in my eyes, I thought I remembered something,” Makoto tried to explain, “but I don’t even know what it was.”

“Last night’s homework?” Minako asked with an impish smile.

“We didn’t—OH, SHIT! I forgot to do my history homework last night!” Makoto exclaimed, stopping in the middle of street.

~-0-~

In the end, Makoto, along with Usagi and Minako, did not escape the wrath of their teacher for being late and forgetting their homework—apparently, Makoto wasn’t the only one who’d forgotten that there was homework last night—but the feeling of uneasiness didn’t go away. She thought it might be because the new student in the next classroom who reminded her of her Senpai (ok, his _jawline_ did), but when she saw him later in the day (he was still too handsome, just like her Senpai), she knew in her gut that that wasn’t what was bothering her.

As she headed towards the spot in the courtyard that had become the Inner-Senshi-minus-Mars’s favorite spot to eat lunch, her mind kept drifting back to that moment when the sun had shone in her eyes. What was even more annoying was the fact that the more she tried to forget about it, the more it lingered there at the back of her head, as if she’d forgotten something important.

“Mako-chan?” a soft voice spoke up next to her.

“Oh! Hey, Ami-chan! Sorry, was lost in my thoughts for a second there. Here, have a seat,” Makoto said, pulling her bookbag off the bench and gesturing towards it.

Ami gave her a pleasant smile and sat down.

“Here’s yours!” Makoto said sunnily, brushing away the uneasiness in her mind and handing Ami a lunchbox she had prepared in the morning.

It turned out that the reason her lunchbox looked larger than usual was because she had four of them stacked inside. It had become something of an unspoken tradition where the girls would bring their own lunchboxes and Makoto would still prepare something for them.

“Mako-chan! I’m going to starve!”

Except for Minako, who wouldn’t have her own lunchbox to begin with.

“Seriously, with the amount you eat, I don’t even know how you maintain your job,” Makoto said with a roll of her eyes, but still handing her a lunchbox anyway.

“Hey! I don’t eat as much as—”

“Mako-channnnnn!”

A similar grin appeared on all three girls’ faces as their Princess ran up to them, looking positively ravenous.

“Here’s your lunch, Princess,” Makoto said, giving her the lunchbox with an indulgent look on her face.

“Thank you!” Usagi said gratefully as she plopped down on the seat in between Minako and Ami.

As they ate and while Usagi and Minako complained about their newest assignment, Ami leaned closer to Makoto. “What were you thinking about before?”

“Hm?” Makoto asked, a bit distracted now that things were quieting down.

Ami smiled. “Or should I ask, what are you distracted about?”

“Oh!” A blush appeared on Makoto’s face. “It’s nothing really.”

Ami looked at her politely, and even though she didn’t say anything, Makoto caved. There was just something about Ami that brought things out of people. She always analysed things in a way that was coolly logical, and which never made you feel inferior, even if her conclusion was basically to call you stupid (which was a rare enough circumstance as it was, and it only happened when she’d been pissed off badly).  For that reason, Makoto found that it was easier speaking to Ami than with the other Senshi.

“I … This morning while I was walking, well,” Makoto amended when she saw Ami’s amused look, “running to school, something crossed my mind, but I can’t remember what it was. It just feels … like I should remember it, but I don’t. Minako-chan thought it might be school-related, but I just have this feeling that that’s not it.”

Ami mulled over Makoto’s words before asking, “Like a memory or a dream that’s at the back of your mind that you can’t remember?”

“Yes,” Makoto answered before she stopped and stared at Ami. “Wait … you too?”

“What are the two of you talking about?” Minako suddenly asked.

Though there was still a smile on her face, Makoto almost had the feeling that she was trying to detect something from their faces.

Before Makoto could answer, Ami cut in, “We were just talking about the project that we have for next week. Have you started on it yet?”

Makoto couldn’t help but stare at Ami before she realised it would make Minako suspicious, so she ducked her head down and pretended to be looking at the food in her lunchbox instead. Nonetheless, she couldn’t help but marvel at how smoothly Ami had lied to Minako. She’d never labeled Ami as someone who could lie, let alone so well. In fact, she’d always thought that it was something that would make Ami uncomfortable. As for _why_ she would even lie to Minako in the first place was an interesting question, but judging from the short interaction they’d had she guessed Ami probably knew more about this than she did and therefore had a good reason to not want Minako’s intervention.

Thankfully, at the talk of schoolwork, Minako immediately switched the topic, although it did seem to Makoto that the blonde kept a closer watch on the two of them for the remainder of lunch. Ami must have noticed, too, because she refrained from speaking further about it.

“Let’s work on the project after school,” Ami suggested to Makoto before they went back to their classrooms.

Realizing that Ami meant to speak with her about the strange incident after school, Makoto nodded. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Minako chatting with Usagi, but she still got the strange feeling that it was all an act and Minako was still secretly observing them.

Once she was back in the classroom, Makoto could hardly sit still. She kept fidgeting in her seat until the concern in her teacher’s eyes turned into annoyance. Granted, she had never really liked school in the first place, but now, it felt longer than usual.

Finally, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Makoto had no idea what Ami had told Minako and Usagi, but by the time she reached the front door of school, they were nowhere to be seen.

Even though they were alone, neither of them spoke immediately, choosing to walk together in a comfortable silence.

They stopped not too far from Game Center Crown, and before Makoto can enter the shop, Ami grabbed onto her arm, nodding towards a park not too far away. Though she had questions, Makoto followed her friend, trusting the latter to know what she was doing.

Ami waited until they’d sat themselves on one of the park benches before she said anything. “How much of our past lives do you remember?”

Makoto was momentarily surprised by the question, but it didn’t take her all that long to recover. She shook her head and answered, “Not too much really. Why?” Suddenly, it clicked in her brain. “You think what I experienced in the morning has something to do with our past lives?”

Ami nodded before lowering her eyes in thought. “I … I think there are parts of our memories that are still locked away.”

Makoto frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“Because Minako-chan wouldn’t talk about it,” Ami answered.

Makoto stared. “What? You think … wait, I’m completely confused right now. First of all, you think Minako-chan’s hiding something from us? And second of all, when did you even speak to her about this?”

Ami nodded. “I’m certain that Minako-chan is hiding something from us.” She paused for a second. “I don’t know if it was because I was awoken as a Sailor Senshi before you, but I … what you described during lunchtime is something that I’ve been experiencing for weeks. I tried to ask Minako-chan about it, but she would always test if I knew what it was actually about before changing the subject. She did it so subtly that I didn’t catch on to it until a few days ago.”

“That’s why you lied to her?” Makoto asked.

“I …” Ami frowned as if she couldn’t remember, and then a furious blush appeared on her face. “Yes, I lied.”

Makoto couldn’t hold back an initial snort at her reaction, but it was just as quickly replaced by a frown. “Why would she hide something like this from us? What’s so scary that she doesn’t want us to know? I thought … I mean, we’ve been through so much already, so why would she lie to us?”

“I think … I don’t really think she’s trying to hide it from us.” Ami paused, presumably to choose the right words. “I think she’s doing it to protect us.”

“Protect us? From what?” Makoto asked.

“I don’t know,” Ami admitted, disgruntled. “I’ve tried to go through the database at the command center to look for information, but it requires permission from a higher authority.”

“Higher authority?” Makoto scoffed. “Why would they lock up something like that? And who’s the higher authority anyw-”

And then she remembered. As the leader of the Sailor Senshi (or at least, the Inner Senshi), Minako **_was_ ** the higher authority.

She swallowed heavily, not liking all this secrecy between friends. “But why … so you’re saying, you think that Minako-chan’s doing all of this to protect us? Do you think Rei-chan knows about this? Maybe we can ask her?”

“I don’t think there’s very much Minako-chan can hide from Rei-chan,” Ami replied with a smile. The smile then faded. “But if Rei-chan knows about it, she’s choosing to ignore it.”

“So we’re the only two who don’t know,” Makoto concluded. “Is there another way to find out?”

Ami nodded with a glint in her eye which only made its appearance when she came up with something particularly clever. “We can’t get the information from the computers, but there’s one source that they can’t lock completely.”

~-0-~

“So let me get this straight, you’re saying that this program is going to go into my mind and force my past life memories to come out?" Makoto asked, looking around with uncertainty in her eyes.

She’d been in the control room under Game Center Crown many times, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so many cords attaching her to the system in there.

A calm smile appeared on Ami’s face as she entered a few commands into the computer. “Don’t worry, Mako-chan. It won’t be intrusive. You won’t feel any pain, you won’t lose anything, and you won’t gain anything—other than your past memories, that is.”

Receiving reassurance from Ami made Makoto feel slightly better, but not all that much. Not because she didn’t trust Ami. She obviously did, or else she wouldn’t have allowed her to hook her up to the computer like this. It was her past memories which made her uneasy. There had to be a reason why Minako would monitor them so closely whenever she discovered that new memories about their past had resurfaced, and Minako wouldn’t be the leader of the Senshi if she didn’t have what it took to be a good, if not an excellent, leader.

However, she truly couldn’t fathom what could be worse than what they’d already known. Seriously, the kingdom that you belong to being destroyed, watching your princess commit suicide after her love of many lifetimes (who was even counting anymore?) was killed, watching your Queen being forced to release the power of the Silver Crystal—she couldn’t think of a lower level of hell for them to go through.

“Ready?” Ami asked.

“Not really,” Makoto said with a weak grin.

Ami gave her another reassuring smile. “We can wait a bit more if you want.”

Makoto mulled over her options and shook her head to the best of her abilities with a bunch of nodes being attached to her head. “I don’t think I can ever be truly ready. Let’s get this over and done with before Luna, Artemis, or one of the others catch us, yeah?”

Ami gave her a nod before turning back to the computer and typing in a few more commands. Makoto watched the back of Ami’s blue-haired head and slowly but surely, she felt rather than heard a soft hum going through her mind. Second later, her eyelids drooped down and a sense of fatigue washed over her. Before she could ask Ami if this was normal, everything went dark.

~-0-~

The final glimpse of the sun disappeared over the horizon, marking the beginning of her shift to look after their ever curious Princess.

“Good evening, Ma’am,” a voice rang up the second she could no longer see the sun.

Jupiter turned around and saw a sandy-blond young man standing behind her. The reverence in his eyes was more apparent than she really cared for, so she chose to ignore it, giving a polite yet distant smile.

“Good evening. I’m sorry, but I need to go back to relieve Sailor Mars of her shift,” Jupiter said as she headed back to the palace.

“Ma’am, if I may ask you a question,” the sandy-blond called out.

She halted in her steps but didn’t immediately turn around. A mixture of hilarity and exasperation stirred in her heart and blossomed into a soft sigh from her lips. She composed her features into the same courteous indifference she reserved for all admirers before facing him.

“Go ahead.”

The sandy-blond—she hoped she wasn’t expected to remember his name because she really couldn’t—suddenly blushed and took a step forward towards her.

Jupiter raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to stumble backwards to the spot he was before.

“Are you going to speak or are you still looking for the right words? If it’s the second option, I’m actually expected to be at Princess Serenity’s room right now.”

Patience was never one of her attributes.

The blush on his face deepened and he stuttered, “Ma’am … I was just … just wondering if you’ll … you’ll be at the ball. The ball being prepared for the Terrans.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Jupiter answered, “Of course.”

If she said anything more than that, she was afraid that it would be a lot less professional and gain too many points in rudeness.

As one of the personal guards of Princess Serenity, she would be expected to be at the ball. To ask if she would be at the ball tomorrow night was similar to asking if Terrans were intelligent.

“Can I … will I … Um … I guess I’ll … I’ll see you there then,” the sandy blond said, chickening out at the last moment.

Jupiter could stop herself from laughing at him, but couldn’t prevent the corners of her lips from quivering. “Sure.”

Without saying anything else, she turned around and walked towards Princess Serenity’s room.

~-0-~

She was a princess.

Of course, she was also the personal guard of Princess Serenity, daughter of Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, but she was a princess. **_The_ ** princess of one of the most valiant and warrior-like race in the solar system. Her parents cherished her like no other and her brothers (and she had many) treated her like the most precious treasure in the world.

One didn’t have to wonder why—she was the only daughter of the Jovian monarchs. The day she was born, her people rejoiced and vowed to serve her with their bodies, souls, and hearts.

Much to their delight, she was also one of the strongest warriors to have been born to the Jovian family. At the age of three, she danced in the middle of one of the strongest storms to hit Jupiter in the last two thousand years. Her guards watched in horror and wonder while she turned and laughed as electricity touched and played with her, showing much more control over the dangerous power than any member of the Jovian royal family for the last seven generations.

From that moment on, she was bestowed the name of the planet, an honor that hadn’t been given since five centuries ago, and admiration became something that she had to deal with on a daily basis. Men from the farthest corners of Jupiter came to pay their respects and ask for her hand. It came to the point where it became all so stale and boring.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait too long before she was brought to the moon and became one of the personal guards of the Moon Princess. Though the admiration from men didn’t stop, at least she had the other Senshi to bear the burden with her.

“What are you thinking about, Jupiter?” Venus asked as she lazily peeled a grape before popping it into her mouth.

Jupiter grimaced. “I think that sandy-blond guard—what's his name again?— he tried but failed to work up the courage to ask me to the ball next week.”

Venus rolled her eyes as Mars and Mercury both sighed.

Mercury asked, exasperated, “Don’t they have **_anything_ ** else better to do than to harass us?”

“I know, right? It’s so boring when they come so easily,” Venus pouted as she laid down on her back on the couch.

Mercury narrowed her eyes at their leader. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Different reasons, same annoyance,” Venus said. She flipped herself around and propped her chin up with her hands. “Do you think those Terrans will be any different?”

Mars groaned, and Mercury rolled her eyes.

“Seriously? You’re out of your mind,” Mars said.

“What? I mean, sure, they’re a bit dumb, but maybe they’ll be so dumb that they won’t treat us like the goddesses that we are,” Venus said.

“I don’t need or want a man to treat me like shit either,” Jupiter deadpanned.

“Let’s hope they’re not **_that_ ** stupid then,” Venus said with a wink.

“You’re incorrigible,” Mercury muttered.

“That’s because I’m an outward romantic,” Venus said. She paused before adding, “Not a closet romantic like someone we know.”

Mercury raised an eyebrow at her without answering.

“Oh, come on, Mercury. There has to be at least one tiny romantic bone in you, isn’t there?”

Mercury continued to stare.

“One tiny romantic cell?” Venus tried.

“I’m surprised you know the word ‘cell’ to be honest,” Mercury replied dryly.

“Hey!”

“Leave her alone,” Jupiter said with a roll of her eyes.

“You three are no fun,” Venus pouted. “We’re goddesses. We should be having fun, bringing handsome lads to our chambers, and having our wicked ways with them.”

"Feel free to take all of them,” Mars said with disgust on her face. “As if they’d bring anything to our lives but trouble.”

A sly smile appeared on Venus’s face. “Is it because you’re actually in love with me, Mars dearest? I assure you that no man could ever replace you in my heart.”

“I’m not a masochist,” Mars deadpanned.

Venus’s mouth dropped open, but before she could say anything, Jupiter cut in and asked, “So what about this ball, huh? You would think that a regular banquet between Queen Serenity and the Terran prince would’ve been enough.”

“He would be bringing all four of his personal guards with him,” Mercury answered. “According to our data, they are also kings in their own rights. If we only had a banquet, it would seem as if we’re viewing them as being less than those who are part of the Alliance.”

“You mean they’re not?” Venus asked, batting her eyelashes innocently, causing Jupiter to snort.

“The Queen will not be pleased if we alert these … presumably civilized Terrans that we’re informed of their true nature. She’s much more interested in gaining their trust so that we can help them become a respectable, peaceful society, rather than a bunch of warmongering brutes,” Mercury answered, a glimmer of amusement flashing through her eyes.

“Let’s hope that they don’t plan to climb into the Queen’s bed first then,” Mars said wryly.

“Mars!” Venus chided.

“Can’t blame her, Venus,” Jupiter said with a casual shrug. “Gotta love how they think we, the gods and goddesses, are similar to them when it comes down to affairs and lust.”

“The Terrans are rather infamous for their affinity towards polygamy. You hardly hear them holding on to monogamous relationships,” Mercury said thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they would actually consider using the prince to … um … coax the Queen into having a more personal relationship with him.”

“Seduce, Mercury. The word is seduce,” Venus said, causing Mercury’s cheeks to turn pink.

“The Queen can take care of herself,” Mars said, narrowing her eyes. “I’m much more worried about the Princess.”

“Why?” Jupiter asked, curious.

“She’s … acting rather strange these days,” Mars said with a frown.

“How so? Why wasn’t I alerted about this?” Venus asked.

“I wanted to observe her for a while longer before letting you know. I thought it might have been my imagination, but while she always liked balls for the sake of dressing up and for what she called ‘the feeling of romance in the air’, I’d never seen her so happy,” Mars answered. “It’s almost as if she can’t wait until the day of the ball arrives.”

“You’re afraid that her curiosity would extend so far that she’ll try to find out more about the Terrans while they’re here?” Venus asked.

“It’s no secret that she always looks at the Earth longingly. I wouldn’t put it past her to make contact with those savages,” Mars said.

“Now, now, Mars. It’s fine while we’re in trusted company, but when the Terrans do arrive, you might want to watch out what you call them. The walls do, after all, have eyes,” Venus said wryly.

Jupiter coughed. “I do believe it’s ‘ears’.”

Venus rolled her eyes upwards and waved her hand. “Whatever it is, as personal guards to the Princess, I’d rather her life as a princess and, in the future, as a queen to be safe and peaceful. Therefore, let’s try our best to show our kindness, humbleness, and generosity to those Terrans, yes?”

~-0-~

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As personal guards to the Princess, the Senshi didn’t usually have to be present when foreign dignitaries from other planets arrived. However, Serenity actually wanted to be there this time.

Given that Serenity had never showed such enthusiasm towards meeting ambassadors from other planets, Jupiter found her enthusiasm peculiar.

“She loves staring at Earth anyway, so she probably thinks that everything and everyone is as pretty as the picture that she’d painted in her mind,” Venus had commented with a sigh.

Nonetheless, the four of them soon found themselves standing at the northern palace gate, awaiting the arrival of a certain Prince Endymion of Earth and his generals. It hardly surprised Jupiter that most of Queen Serenity’s court was absent for one reason or another. Except for the Queen and her daughter, it was no secret that most Lunarians had always seen the Terrans as beneath them.

Mars, in particular, preferred to call them “savages” when their lieges weren’t around to hear her.

Even Luna and Artemis had suspicions about them, but they always held the Queen’s orders above their own opinions and so it came as no surprise when Jupiter saw them slinking around near the Queen’s ankles.

While Jupiter was lost in her thoughts, a streak of light left Earth and made its way towards the Moon.

“They’re early,” Venus said with a raised eyebrow.

“At least they have manners then,” Mars commented wryly.

Jupiter snorted, causing Serenity to look at them in confusion. Jupiter patted her on the head, signifying for her to not worry.

However, it was hardly needed, as the streak of light landed right before them at that precise moment, and her Princess’s attention was no longer on them. The light faded away and five people emerged.

In spite of herself, the first thing Jupiter noticed was that all five of them were attractive. Okay, she was lying—they were downright gorgeous, and Jupiter had seen her share of good-looking men. Yet, there was something about them that made them stand out. Perhaps it was because the Prince and his generals’ upbringing had given them an extra presence, an aura of gravity and a demand for respect; or perhaps it was the fact that each and every one of them were taller than her, a feat that wasn’t easily accomplished. The final outcome made it hard for Jupiter to have an immediate reaction, and it wasn’t until Queen Serenity stepped forward to greet them that Jupiter realized that she was staring at them.

That was also when she noticed that one particular general with wavy chocolate brown hair was ogling them, too, as if he was surprised to see them there.

_Must be one of those chauvinistic Terran pigs that we’ve heard about so many times, surprised to see women as guards to royalty._

It killed the initial impression she had of him and further proved to her that Terrans were all alike, despite how good-looking they were. Therefore, when his gaze met with hers, she rolled her eyes and purposely turned her head away from his direction.

“Prince Endymion, it’s a pleasure to have you here with us today,” Queen Serenity said with a pleasant smile.

“The pleasure is all mine, Queen Serenity,” Prince Endymion replied with a small smile of his own as he kissed the back of Queen Serenity’s hand. He gestured to the men who stood a small distance behind him. “These are my personal guards, the Shitennou, Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoisite.”

“Your Highness,” the four generals said and bowed in unison.

“Welcome to the Moon Kingdom,” Queen Serenity said. “I do hope you would enjoy your time here.” She gestured towards the Princess and the Senshi. “This is my daughter, Princess Serenity, and her guards, the Inner Senshi, Sailor Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter.”

“Princess Serenity,” Endymion echoed as his eyes landed on Serenity.

“Prince Endymion,” Serenity replied.

The moment seemed to stand still as the two of them stared into one another’s eyes, until one of Endymion’s generals coughed lightly.

Serenity’s cheeks turned pink as she lowered her eyes and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Endymion stepped forward, gently picked up Serenity’s hand, and placed a kiss on the back of it. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess.”

A small smile appeared on Serenity’s face and her eyes sparkled as she turned towards the Queen. “Shall I show them to their chambers, Mother?”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Princess, I—”

Something flashed through Queen Serenity’s eyes as she held up a hand to stop Luna from continuing. “That’s fine, Serenity.”

Jupiter exchanged a quick look with the other Senshi and found them just as confused as she was. As the Princess of the Moon, it wasn’t Serenity’s responsibility to attend to the visiting Prince and his generals. Furthermore, even if it were, she would always find some way to get out of chores and tasks. The fact that Queen Serenity showed no signs of being surprised made Jupiter all the more bewildered, but she knew that she couldn’t possibly ask right now.

And that was how Jupiter ended up walking through the corridors with her Princess and the Prince a small distance in front of her and a general right next to her. Her attention, however, was hardly on the man. Instead, she kept looking backwards to make sure that Mercury was all right.

“You know Nephrite’s not going to gobble her up while we’re right inside the Moon Palace, don’t you?” the general next to her asked in a volume that only she could hear.

Jupiter’s eyes snapped towards him, taking in the flirtatious bottle-green eyes, lazy smirk, and loosely-tied strawberry blond hair.

“I didn’t say he would,” Jupiter muttered.

“You didn’t have to say anything, Sailor Jupiter. It’s written all over your face,” he continued to say in a hushed voice. “Though I can’t say that I’m surprised, given the reputation Nephrite’s land had gained.”

Jupiter ogled him. “ ** _What_ ** reputation?”

Mars, who was walking in front of her, turned her head slightly to look at what the outburst was about. The general walking next to Jupiter immediately snapped his mouth shut. It wasn’t until Mars turned around that Jupiter grabbed the strawberry-blond general and marched to the left until they were a small distance from the others.

“What reputation?” she demanded once more.

The general looked at her, worried. “You mean, you didn’t know?”

“What am I supposed to know?” Jupiter pressed, narrowing her eyes and cracking her knuckles threateningly.

The general held up his hand in mock surrender and said, “Okay, okay! I was just making sure. I’m surprised you didn’t know, since **_everyone_ ** on Earth knows about this. Funny, since you know, I thought it was the kind of news that would’ve spread to other planets—”

“Would you quit babbling and get to the point?” Jupiter hissed.

The general took a step back and his eyes widened. “Please don’t hurt me. I’m not the one who eats babies.”

“Eats—He **_what_ ** ? He eats **_babies_ **?”

“Well, I don’t think you should say it like he **_wanted_ ** to do it, but you know, it’s really part of their growing up ritual or something like that, and think about it in a good way. At least I didn’t say that he eat young maidens. I mean, I’ve heard people say that the elders of his land drink young maidens’ blood to enhance their ability to talk to the stars, but—hey, where are you going!?”

However, Jupiter had already reached where Mercury and Nephrite was. Without saying anything, she grabbed Nephrite by the shoulder, turned him around, and clocked him in the face.

“Jupiter!” Serenity gasped.

“Jupiter, what’s the meaning of this?” Venus demanded sharply.

“He eats **_babies_ **!” Jupiter spat out, causing Nephrite to stare at her.

It took a short moment for everyone to fully digest what she had said.

Serenity broke the silence and asked Endymion with shock written all over her face, “He eats **_babies_ **!?”

“You eat babies?” Endymion asked Nephrite with a disgusted frown.

“I do **_not_ ** eat babies!” Nephrite growled.

“Who told you he eats babies?” the silver-haired general standing next to Venus spoke up.

Jupiter spun around to point at the strawberry-blond general but found no one there.

“Zoisite,” the blond general standing next to Mars said with a sigh.

The frown on the silver-haired general’s face deepened, and without warning, he disappeared, only to reappear moments later with the strawberry-blond in question. Before any words could be exchanged, Nephrite jumped to his feet, rushed forward, and pummeled Zoisite while spewing out a string of words that Jupiter couldn’t understand. She could only assume that they were expletives in his native tongue.

Later, she would recall in retrospect how peculiar it was that no one thought of stopping him from beating up Zoisite before he became a bloody mess; she could only assume that it was because this was probably the norm for them

“That’s enough, Nephrite,” the silver-haired general finally spoke up.

Nephrite also ended up with a couple of scratches on his face and arms, and under different circumstances, Jupiter knew she would’ve found the whole scene hilarious.

Zoisite gingerly touched the corner of his mouth and winced. “You son of a—”

“Stop trying to aggravate him, Zoisite, or else I won’t stop him the next time he tries to kill you,” the silver-haired general said coldly.

“But Kunzite, look at—” The rest of Zoisite’s words were swallowed when Kunzite shot him an icy stare.

Taking a deep breath and recomposing his features to display a polite friendliness, Kunzite addressed Jupiter, “Zoisite has the unhealthy habit of playing pranks on others, and unfortunately, he’s too young to realize that here and now is not a good place to put that habit into action. I apologize on his behalf, Sailor Jupiter, and I hope you will not see this as a deliberate attempt to provoke you, dishonor the Moon Kingdom, or disrespect Queen Serenity.”

Though Jupiter had no idea why it had happened, she’d figured out by now that Zoisite had lied to her. A furious blush colored her cheeks, both out of guilt and embarrassment. For a moment, she found it difficult to reply to Kunzite, so she nodded instead.

After casting warning glances towards both Zoisite and Nephrite, Kunzite turned around and walked forward. As he passed the blond general (presumably called Jadeite), he shot him a glance. Jadeite nodded and Jupiter was hardly surprised when he was the one who ended up walking next to her for the rest of the way to their chambers while Zoisite hobbled ahead next to Mars. Despite knowing that the whole incident was Zoisite’s fault, Jupiter still found it particularly hard to look Nephrite in the eye and was more than thankful for Kunzite’s arrangement.

~-0-~

“Great job, Jupiter, punching the general in the face. I’m certain he wouldn’t try to court you now,” Venus cackled after they’d accompanied Serenity to her room and the four of them were alone again.

Jupiter groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I … it’s not my fault!”

“You can’t really place the blame on her,” Mercury said with a frown. “If General Zoisite hadn’t pulled that prank …”

“Well, I got to say that I don’t blame her either. They’re Terran **_men_ ** ,” Mars sniffed.

Venus waved her hand and said, “I was just teasing her.” She paused before saying, “Did you see that display of magic though? I thought most Terrans were afraid of magic.”

“They’re afraid of magic in commoners, but not in those who hold positions of power,” Mercury corrected wryly. “Apparently, if you’re powerful and rich, you possess the right to have access to magic, but you’ll get burned at the stake if you’re a beggar who knows ‘witchcraft’.”

“How civilized,” Mars said sarcastically. “I can hardly wait until they join the Alliance.”

“Never mind that. Do you think he—General Nephrite, that is … do you think he’s all right though? I mean … I didn’t … he’s a king, right? Didn’t they say that Prince Endymion’s generals were also kings? I didn’t just start a war by punching him in the face, did I?” Jupiter asked, wringing her hands together.

“I don’t think so,” Venus said. “At least, from Kunzite’s reaction, I don’t think he’s blaming you on the incident. If anything, I think General Zoisite’s in for a chiding once they are alone.”

Mars cast a glance at Venus, which the latter firmly ignored.

“But still … this is … oh gods, this is embarrassing. How am I supposed to face him after this?” Jupiter moaned, pulling her hair in frustration.

“You can always try to be nice to him,” Venus offered.

Mars looked disgusted at the idea but didn’t say anything. Mercury looked decidedly uncomfortable and Jupiter hardly thought it was her imagination that the mini-computer she whipped out in the next second was to hide her discomfort.

“I had preferred to stay away from them,” Jupiter said.

“Understandable. To be honest, given that you’d punched him because General Zoisite pranked the two of you, the only person he should hold a grudge against is General Zoisite, not you. If it makes you feel less guilty for punching him in the face, send him some flowers or something,” Venus said.

“Don’t they already have plenty of flowers on Earth?” Mars asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s just a gesture of kindness to show that she’s sorry, not for him to start his own garden or something,” Venus said airily. “Or you can bake him something.”

“... I’ve never cooked before,” Jupiter said.

“There’s always a first for everything,” Venus said sagely.

“I can look up some recipes for you,” Mercury offered, peering up from her mini-computer.

“Do I have to?” Jupiter wrinkled her nose.

“Or you can just pretend nothing ever happened,” Mars said with a shrug.

“But I did punch him,” Jupiter said.

“It’s either that or cookies. Or flowers. Just make your choice and get it over and done with,” Mars said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jupiter looked towards the ceiling and sighed. In the end, guilt overcame her other emotions, causing her to sigh again.

“Mercury, I’m going to need those recipes.”

~-0-~

Jupiter stood by the oven and waited, tapping her feet on the floor rhythmically. When she first looked at the recipes for Terran cookies Mercury had given her, she’d thought that she would be bored stiff. However, since she was baking the cookies to apologize, she figured she’d just get it over and done with. Surprisingly, baking brought out the patience she’d never known she had and she found it a fun activity to do.

_Perhaps it’s time to learn more about cooking then._

Now, the only thing left to do was to wait for the oven to do its work and bake the cookies. Given that it was the first time she’d tried her hand at cooking, Venus, Mars, and Mercury had all “kindly” declined her offer to let them try it first.

Some friends they were.

As she was waiting, the kitchen door suddenly opened. She looked up and found herself staring at the would-be recipient to the first thing she’d ever cooked in her life. It was so sudden that she just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

It was the first time they’d seen one another after that unfortunate incident, and things were, needless to say, awkward.

Apparently, he was also at a loss of words since he just stood at the doorway, looking very much out of place.

_He belongs on a battlefield._

That thought came unbidden to her mind, and it was the perfect words to describe him. It wasn’t that he was unkempt or something; his hair, despite being long and wavy, was neatly combed and his uniform was clean and ironed. However, he was muscular as he was tall, and she could easily imagine him carrying a battle-axe and smashing his way through enemy soldiers.

“... Hi,” he finally said, breaking the silence.

She snapped out of her thoughts and allowed a smile to appear on her face. It was a nervous one, but a smile nonetheless.

“Hi,” she greeted back, bunching up her skirt with her fist before she remembered that she was still wearing her fuku and doing so would reveal more than an appropriate amount of skin to him. She quickly released her grip and scratched the back of her head instead. “What are you doing here?”

It came out a bit harsher than she’d intended it to be, and she mentally groaned, hoping that he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

Surprisingly, Nephrite didn’t look offended. Instead, a curious shade of pink suddenly colored his cheeks, and he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than where he was standing at the moment. Then, it looked like he finally made up his mind, and with a determined look on his face, he marched forward until he was standing in front of Jupiter.

“These are for you,” he said.

A strong but pleasant fragrance hit her in the face, and she stared at the bouquet of flowers that was now hovering in front of her face.

_They’re beautiful._

That was the first thought that went through her mind. Subconsciously, her hand went to the ear and touched the earring that bore the same shape as the flowers that were presented to her.

Roses, she recalled they were called. Her eldest brother, Prometheus, had brought the earrings back to her after a trip to Earth. She remembered that he’d said that roses reminded him of her: a beauty that had plenty of thorns hidden within, waiting to prick the unexpected. She’d laughed and took it as a compliment because as a warrior, it worked to her advantage. It had been a lovely trinket that probably would’ve ended up at the bottom of her drawers.

Until he unexpectedly died during a second visit to Earth.

They said that it was an accident. The skies were clear, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Two hours after the ship went out to sea, the storm moved in, wrecking the ship and taking her brother’s life with it.

She’d never known she was such a sentimental person until she started wearing those rose earrings on her ears everyday.

Unexpectedly, tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back, unwilling to cry in front of a stranger.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, collecting the roses in her arms and inhaling the wonderful smell.

He looked uncertain, as if he wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not. To be honest, she wasn’t certain either, so she turned around and checked the oven instead, after she’d placed the bouquet down on the table.

“I talked to Kunzite about what happened yesterday,” Nephrite began to say.

Jupiter paused momentarily, wondering what he was talking about, since Kunzite was there when she’d punched him. She then continued to check the cookies. They looked like they were about ready.

“He supposed that we’d gotten off on the wrong foot,” Nephrite continued to say. “I mean … I wasn’t sure why you looked like you were pissed off at me when we first arrived on the moon. I’d thought it was because Lunarians didn’t like Terrans by default, but the other Senshi didn’t seem to have a problem with us, and you didn’t seem to have a problem speaking with the other Shitennou. Kunzite said that it was probably because you caught me staring when we’d arrived and you thought it was because I saw that the four of you are women.”

_Hm … that Kunzite is probably more intelligent than most Terrans are. I suppose I should let Venus know about this._

“Well, I have to admit that I was surprised to see that the four of you are women,” Nephrite said.

Jupiter stopped in her motions and slowly turned her head around to give him the evil eye.

Nephrite immediately held up his hands. “I didn’t mean it that way.” He dropped his hands to his side and continued, “What I meant to say is that back on Earth, there’s a religion that said that Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury were gods, not goddesses.”

“Probably because the deities that represented war, might, and intelligence should always be men, eh?” Jupiter asked wryly.

“To be honest, I’d never really thought about whether the gods were male or female until Endy—that is, the Prince—told us he wanted to visit the moon. I don’t even know how Zoisite knew, but he insisted that all of you must be female. It couldn’t have been Endy who’d told him because you would’ve thought he’d tell us, too, right?” Nephrite asked.

Jupiter hummed in response, not knowing how to answer him because she didn’t know Endymion that well. Though she wondered why Endymion would know that they were female. Perhaps it was because Nephrite thought that the royalties should know everything. Funny because he was supposed to be a king back on Earth, too, wasn’t he?

With her anger slightly appeased, she turned around, took the cookies out of the oven, and placed it on the counter for them to cool.

“But yeah … no one told us we were going to see four gorgeous women who belonged in fairytales. So that was the reason why I stared. Not because you’re a female warrior.”

The tray in Jupiter’s hand nearly fell over. Thankfully, she caught herself just in time, but she couldn’t do anything about the furious blush that appeared on her cheeks.

_Get a grip. It’s not even the first time someone complimented you._

Perhaps it was the honesty in his voice or maybe it was because his gift of roses had touched her more than she’d realized, but something about the way he’d said it made it sound so genuine and nice in her ears.

“Thank you,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

Uncontrollably, she cast another look at the bouquet of flowers that was now lying next to the tray of cookies.

There was a moment of silence before Nephrite spoke up again, “By the way, I do **_not_ ** eat babies.”

Jupiter couldn’t hold back a laugh. Thoroughly amused, she smiled at him and said, “I kind of figured that out.”

“Oh,” Nephrite said with a frown. But it was quickly replaced by a smile. “That’s good.”

“Yeah. I don’t think the Queen will be very fond of the idea of working with someone who eats babies,” Jupiter joked.

“Well, I’m more worried if a beautiful woman thinks I eat babies, but that too,” Nephrite said.

Jupiter’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned around to look at the cookies again.

What was wrong with her? She’d had suitors that gave her even more flattering compliments and she could always laugh them off. However, when the person in question was Nephrite, she suddenly felt like a giddy village girl who hadn’t been given praises before.

_It really is a crime to look so beautiful._

She decided to chalk it up to the fact that he looked too gorgeous to be real. It wasn’t that the men that she had seen before were ugly. In fact, she had seen plenty of men who were prettier than he was. Perhaps it was because he seemed like the perfect combination of strength and beauty, or perhaps it was the fact that he looked like he could easily carry her and do push-ups at the same time, but there was just something about him that differentiated him from other men to her.

“Am I distracting you?” Nephrite suddenly asked.

Jupiter whipped her head around and stared at him, wondering if he knew what was going through her mind.

However, he gestured at the oven behind her. “You were baking something, weren’t you?”

Relief washed over Jupiter, and she nodded with a smile.

“If you prefer for me to leave you alone …” he said.

Jupiter lowered her eyes and shook her head. “It’s fine. Besides … the cookies were for you anyway.”

“You made cookies for me?” Nephrite asked.

Jupiter looked up again and found him looking at her with a surprised yet delighted expression on his face.

“... Yeah,” she answered with some difficulty. “I mean … regardless of if it was because of Zoisite, I did … punch you in the face.”

He grinned. “That was one hell of a punch.”

She looked at him with uncertainty, but it was quickly washed away when she noticed that he held no malice towards her. Or at least, that was what it seemed like from his expression.

“You know, nobody ever made cookies for me,” Nephrite commented.

She hummed and said, “Well, you’re one of Prince Endymion’s guards, so they probably thought that if you wanted cookies, you could always order the royal chef to make it for you or something.”

Nephrite scoffed, “There’s a **_lot_ ** of difference between cookies made from a royal chef and … well, cookies made for someone specific.”

Jupiter raised an eyebrow at him. “How so?”

Nephrite leaned against one of the counters and crossed his arms over his chest. “A royal chef makes dishes so that they would get praised. Maybe they would wish to make the person they’re serving happy or maybe not, but in the end, there’s no emotion behind it. There’s no hidden message in there. The dish might taste good and look pretty, but there’s a lack of care. On the other hand, when someone makes something for that special someone, they’re thinking about **_that person_ **. They wonder if that specific person would like the shape, the taste, the smell … It’s a kind of care that can’t be felt through a fancy dish made by a royal chef.”

Jupiter stared at him in wonder.

Just what kind of a man was he? She’d known that he could be straightforward, since he hadn’t bothered beating around the bush when he spoke to her; he could be belligerent, judging by the way he’d beaten up Zoisite; and he could be sweet, as could be seen by the simple gesture of bringing her roses. However, this emotional side of him was one that she hadn’t seen coming and it thoroughly surprised her.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head slightly upwards as if he were daring her to contradict him.

She should add “downright confrontational to the point of being in your face” to his list of attributes as well.

And somehow, it made her smile instead of getting angered. “No.”

His face softened upon hearing her reply and he returned her smile.

They stood there in a comfortable silence for a short while, with Jupiter testing the cookies every once in a while to make sure they’d cooled down enough to be eaten and with Nephrite looking around the kitchen in mild interest.

“The cookies should be ready,” Jupiter finally announced, and she felt that her voice was much calmer than what she was feeling.

The insecurity was something new to her. Throughout her life, she’d always been proud and sure of herself. However, standing here in the middle of the kitchen with a trayful of freshly-baked cookies in front of a man (a **_Terran_ ** man, too), she felt her insides twist and turn, threatening to make her retch.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

What was she thinking, giving him the first batch of cookies she’d ever made? She should’ve tasted them herself first, or maybe get someone to try them—that blond guard who was trying to ask her to the ball probably would be delighted to do so.

However, there wasn’t anything she could do now except watch as Nephrite pick a cookie up from the tray and pop it into his mouth. The time seemed to slow down after that moment as she waited for him to say something. At least, she hoped that it wasn’t so disgusting that he would spit it out.

She waited and waited, but it seemed like he took forever to chew that piece of cookie.

_Why is he so slow? Do Terrans always chew for so long? Is he taking his time because it tastes horrible and he doesn’t know how to spit it out without hurting my feelings?_

After what seemed like a whole millennium, he finally swallowed.

“Well?” she immediately asked.

“Well what?” he asked instead of answering.

“How … do the cookies taste okay?” she asked.

“What—SHIT! Did you add something in there?” he asked, horrified.

“What?” she asked, confused now.

“It’s poison, isn’t it? But … you have super powers, why would you use poison on me?” Nephrite rambled. “No, wait. It’s another one of Zoisite’s pranks, isn’t it? There’s itching powder in there, isn’t there? No, wait. He did that three months ago—”

Jupiter finally understood what he was worried about. Resisting the urge to giggle, she said, “There’s no poison or itching powder in there! I … it’s my first time making cookies, so I just wanted to make sure that they tasted all right. There are no pranks involved.”

Nephrite stared at her, perhaps trying to see if she was being honest. In the end, he finally relaxed. Grabbing a cookie from the tray, he flipped it around in his hand and observed it.

“ ** _This_ ** has to be a prank,” he said.

Jupiter raised an eyebrow at him and wondered what he was talking about.

He looked at her and gave her a half-smile. “Cookies this delicious? They can’t possibly be the first cookies you’d ever made.”

“They’re … delicious?”

“Very much so,” he answered, popping the cookie into his mouth. “ ** _Extremely_ ** delicious.”

Jupiter beamed at him.

After he swallowed, he looked Jupiter in the eye and said, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Like I said, it’s … well, I hope that you will forgive me for … you know. That incident,” she said.

“Of course,” he said with a frown. “Did you truly think that I blamed you? I wasn’t even angry at you anyway. What kind of a man would I be if I’m angry at you for something Zoisite did? Or did you think I would actually get angry for being punched in the face by a woman?”

“You’re not?” she asked, surprised yet again.

He looked thoroughly offended. “Of course not.”

The way he said it was so genuine, as if it was so ingrained into his mind, that it blew Jupiter away yet again.

He smiled again. “I’m thanking you because you’d given me an honor. You’d allowed me to be the first person to taste the first cookies you’d every baked. Thank you.”

“Oh,” she answered. She blinked twice, and she tried to find something something nice to reply to what he had said, but nothing came. In the end, she could only give him a feeble, “You’re welcome.”

However, despite being at a loss with how to answer him, she knew that his words had triggered something in her heart, something that felt as dangerous as it was intriguing.

And that something thoroughly entranced her.

~-0-~

  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Makoto opened her eyes, a sinking feeling in her heart. Judging by how Ami’s face now looked paler than normal, she must had seen what Makoto had, most likely through the computer, and she wasn’t much better off either.

“What … what was that all about?” Makoto stuttered.

The events she had just witnessed thoroughly frightened her. If things continued the way that was hinted from what she had seen …

“I don’t know,” Ami answered, her voice nearly a whisper. “I … what had we done?”

They’d opened a can of worms for all Makoto could tell. Makoto and the others had always known that the Shitennou were present during the Silver Millennium and were especially prominent during the fall of the Moon Kingdom. However, if what she had seen was true (and she had a deep gut feeling that they were), then …

“That meant … This means … that we weren’t just enemies on the battlefield, doesn’t it?” Makoto asked timidly.

The look of horror and realization on Ami’s face was most likely the same as the expression she was wearing right now, and it came from nothing more than the pile of mess they’d unknowingly but willingly leapt into. If her memories were anything to go by, then there were a few relationships between the Senshi and the Shitennou that weren’t just limited to “friendly acquaintances” but extended to something more.

Something much more.

Not knowing what to say with one another and with Makoto still shaken from what she had seen, they both mutually decided to call it a day. Almost frantically, they left the command center and parted ways, heading for their respective homes.

They could run from Game Center Crown, but they had no way to run from what they had seen.

Uneasiness plagued Makoto for the rest of the day, and even while she was lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep, afraid of what was waiting for her if she allowed herself to rest and fall into the land of dreams.

She tossed and turned, thinking about what she had seen.

“Nephrite,” she tried his name on her tongue.

Unexpectedly, she felt a jolt in her stomach, though she had no idea if it were really because her soul remembered him in some way or because of what she had seen. She didn’t remember much of him, having joined Usagi and the others after Nephrite had been killed by Zoisite.

She narrowed her eyes at the ceiling, remembering how Zoisite had played that joke on him when they’d first arrived on the moon. Nonetheless, regardless of how much she tried, she couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her lips.

“Eating babies. Ha!” she muttered to herself.

But was that Jupiter really her? She couldn’t remember being so confident during this lifetime. The way she had turned away that blond guard …

“And he was pretty cute too,” she sighed.

If he had asked her to a ball this lifetime, she probably would’ve said yes.

She turned over in bed and lied on side, her mind drifting over to Nephrite once more. At least, there was one thing the Jupiter in her memories and she had in common: Nephrite **_was_ ** gorgeous. She had no trouble understanding why Naru was so caught up with him and couldn’t get over the fact that he’d died for such a long time.

If it had been her …

_Maybe it had been._

She groaned and shook her head. She didn’t even know the rest of the story. Perhaps they’d just become friends. She couldn’t imagine someone like him falling in love with her. The other Senshi looked pretty much the same as they did in this lifetime, so she assumed that her looks remained the same as well.

She flipped over again and lied on her stomach.

Although … that Jupiter did possess a lot more confidence.

“Confidence is the key—well, one-third of the key to being attractive,” Minako had once said to her. “You already have the looks and body, so you’re just missing that last component to be a bombshell, Mako-chan.”

She didn’t know how much she trusted Minako, to be honest. The girl would probably Love and Beauty Shock anyone who dared to imply that her friends were anything less than gorgeous, so Makoto never took her opinions seriously.

Her expression turned grim as she recalled the Jupiter in her memories. **_That_ ** Jupiter wouldn’t have this problem.

But that Jupiter was her, wasn’t she? That was supposed to be her past life, wasn’t it?

So how did they turn out to be so different?

She could understand Jupiter being uncertain the first time she’d cooked, though Makoto didn’t have that problem this lifetime. She supposed it was because that Jupiter **_did_ ** continue to learn more about cooking after she’d discovered the joy in doing so. The confidence grew from there and then she carried it on to this lifetime.

Makoto had known that they weren’t carbon copies of their previous lives, but what could’ve caused her to lose so much confidence throughout the two different lifetimes? She didn’t need someone else to tell her to know that she was a bit on the side of being boy-crazy. Okay, she was lying. She was definitely in the category of being boy-crazy, but the point stood either way.

_Does it have to do with Nephrite?_

Uncontrollably, her heart skipped a beat at that thought.

It hadn’t escaped her notice that she hadn’t compared him to her Senpai at all, and it was really a first for her, ever since … well, ever since she’d gotten her heart broken by her Senpai. Subconsciously, she’d already known that there would be no comparison. Nephrite seriously blew her Senpai out of the water.

_Sorry, Senpai!_

She flipped over and stared at the ceiling again, aghast that she didn’t really feel that sorry towards her Senpai.

 _Minako’s going to be so proud of me_ , she thought sarcastically.

Great, now she was starting to sound like Rei, who would probably have a few other sarcastic remarks to kill Makoto with if she ever found out that the latter found a former enemy attractive.

Guilt warred with fear, and the exhaust that accompanied having previous memories returned to her finally caught up, and without knowing how and when it happened, Makoto slowly dozed off.

_It could’ve been worse … like falling in love with Zoisite …_

~-0-~

“M’lady, General Nephrite requests to see you,” a maid said to Jupiter as she placed one last finishing touch of makeup on her face.

A giddiness she’d never known welled up in her heart when she heard who was waiting for her, though she managed to keep a straight face when she addressed the maid, “It’s probably to discuss the safety measures for the ball tonight. Let him know that I’ll be right out. I’ll be heading to the ball immediately afterwards, so you may rest for the rest of the night after you deliver my message to him.”

The maid bowed and left Jupiter’s chambers. Once the door closed, Jupiter checked her look one last time before hurrying towards to the entrance. Bunching her dress up, she stooped down and peeked through the keyhole, waiting for the maid to leave the antechamber. When her eyes landed on Nephrite, her lips curved upwards into a smile. Once the maid left, she threw the door open.

Nephrite’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and she rushed forwards, letting herself fall into his arms.

“You astound me, woman,” Nephrite whispered into her hair.

Jupiter grinned, peering up through her lashes at him. “How so?”

“You manage to show me different sides of your beauty every single time. How is it possible for someone to look lovely no matter what they do?” Nephrite asked, adoration in his eyes.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, General,” Jupiter teased.

“Then how about a kiss?” he asked.

He dipped his head down and she met him halfway as she felt his arm tighten around her waist.

This … this was bliss. She’d never known that she could find so much happiness with one man, and now, she knew she would never want to lose this.

“Gods, I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

_I love you, too …_

“We should head down to the ball before someone realizes that we’re not there,” Jupiter whispered instead, giggling softly when his lips traveled down to a particularly ticklish spot on her neck.

He sighed and straightened up his body but didn’t release her from his embrace. They stood there in silence and Jupiter placed her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t want to lose this,” Nephrite suddenly said.

She froze. It was the first time she’d heard vulnerability in his voice and it frightened her.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, millions of possibilities going through her mind but none of them really making sense to her.

He kissed her forehead before burying his face into her hair.

“Nephrite,” she called, gently trying to prise herself out of his arms but he wouldn’t let go.

“Let me hold you for a while,” he requested quietly.

Jupiter stopped struggling and stood still, her heart still slightly worried about being found missing but even more concerned about him now.

“It’s been happening for a while now,” Nephrite finally said after a while. “I know Zoisite had been investigating about it, but he wouldn’t tell me about it, neither would Kunzite. Jadeite and I had been trying to find out more about it, but we only found out what everyone already knew.”

Jupiter remained silent, waiting for him to think of the proper words to say.

“People were going missing for months and then they’d reappear out of nowhere. Some of them pretended to be normal, but weeks later, they’d start causing trouble in their towns. Others … Jupiter, they’re forming cults on Earth now,” Nephrite said. “They say that they’d been kidnapped by evil beings from the skies, but they’d managed to escape. The ones who hadn’t escaped got brainwashed to cause trouble when they went back to Earth.”

“What?” Jupiter asked, shocked, and pushed herself out of his arms.

However, he placed his hands on her shoulders, refusing to let her get too far away. “They’re trying to cause chaos, Jupiter. They’re trying to make people believe that the Moon has a secret agenda to take over Earth, but I know it’s not you who's done it. I know it’s not you or anyone from the moon, Jupiter. How can I believe those lies when I’ve gotten to know you? When we’d gotten to know all of you? But people are afraid and Terrans do incredibly stupid things when they’re afraid. That’s why we didn’t even hesitate when Endymion told us to come to the Moon with him. It wasn’t just because he wanted to be with the Princess, but because all of us wanted an alliance with the Moon, because none of us wanted the Earth to go through an unnecessary war.”

“The Terrans are thinking about going to **_war_ ** with the Moon Kingdom?” Jupiter questioned, her eyes wide.

“No!” Nephrite replied, shaking his head. He closed his eyes. “No, we don’t want to go to war with the Moon Kingdom. Queen Serenity is a benevolent woman, and Princess Serenity has so much love in her that I’m not sure she’s real. I know some Lunarians look down on Terrans and think that we’re savages—”

Guilt welled up in Jupiter’s heart, but she brushed it away to focus on what Nephrite was saying.

“—but I know that they don’t have any thoughts of harm towards Earth. The ones who are spreading the lies … I’m not sure they’re purely human anymore, Jupiter.”

“But … but you said …”

“They look like the missing people, but there’s something wrong with them. I tried to talk to the stars, but my divination powers aren’t as strong as Mars’s,” Nephrite said.

“Perhaps we can ask Mars then. Or did Jadeite already speak to Mars about this?” Jupiter asked.

“They got into another argument,” Nephrite replied, exasperated.

Jupiter lowered her eyes in thought. “But it’s concerning the safety of Earth and possibly the Moon. They’re bound to put their argument aside for the time being.”

Nephrite said, “I was thinking about asking Mars later, after the ball. Will you come with me?”

Jupiter nodded.

Nephrite smiled at her, running a hand down her cheek before pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear. They looked at one another for a while, as if they were trying to imprint each other in one another’s hearts, until Nephrite broke the silence.

“You know, it’s such a pity that you despise marriages.”

Jupiter stared at him, and she could feel the burn of the blush blossoming on her face. He couldn’t possibly be saying what she thought he was saying, could he?

He cupped her cheek with one hand. “If you didn’t, I would’ve risked the wrath of Queen Serenity, stolen you away from the Moon Kingdom, and gotten married with you in a heartbeat.” The smile on his face deepened and looked almost like a child instead of a king-general. “There’s a tailor in my lands who makes the most beautiful wedding dresses, if my sisters are to be believed. I think she’d find it a hard job to make you any more gorgeous than you already are, but if I were to make my brothers jealous about me getting married to a goddess, I might as well go all the way, don’t you think?”

Other than being touched, she felt worry trickling through her body like poison upon hearing his words. It almost felt like a premonition of some kind.

Almost breathlessly, she replied in a hurried tone of voice as if they were running out of time, “Yes.”

His eyes widened. “… What?”

Her eyes blurred but she didn’t bother brushing away the tears that fell, choosing to cup his hands with hers instead. “I’ll marry you. I don’t care if an alliance is made or not. Even if your people hate me and there are people who want to burn me at stakes for being a witch from the skies, I want to be with you forever. I want to see what kind of dress the tailor will make for me and I want your brothers to be jealous of you. I want to—”

The rest of her words were lost as he pulled her into his embrace once again.

“My goddess,” he whispered against her lips as he kissed her again and again, with neither of them caring anymore if anyone found out that they were missing from the ball.

~-0-~

“Supreme Thunder!” Jupiter shouted, frying the wave of Terran soldiers who’d tried to breach the Lunar defense line.

From a distance, she could hear the other Senshi releasing magic of their own, and she knew, without looking, that the force of their attacks must be stronger than they usually were, exponentially increased by the heartbreaks they had suffered.

During the ball, Endymion and the Shitennou had been called back to Earth, due to an unexpected riot. Three days later, the Earth blocked off all contact after emitting a message to the Moon, claiming that the two lands were now mortal enemies.

A day later, Endymion appeared at the palace without his Shitennou. The Inner Senshi didn’t dare to ask, since their relationships with the Shitennou had always been a secret, even to their lieges. However, they knew how much the Shitennou loved Endymion. The fact that they had allowed him to go to the Moon all alone meant that they were either in danger or dead.

Shortly after Endymion arrived, the Terrans attacked the Moon. Other than the defense that were already in place, nobody had enough time to prepare themselves for the onslaught. The Inner Senshi immediately rushed to the frontline, ready to avenge their lost loves and to protect the Queen and the Princess at all costs, even if it meant to lose their lives.

“Impressive.”

The familiar voice made Jupiter froze on the spot, and she nearly got gutted by a Terran soldier. Leaping backwards, she released a bolt of electricity on the attacker before seeking out the voice, not bothering to watch as the Terran soldier fell to the grounds, burnt and dead.

Her heart sank when she saw the familiar features of the one she’d loved.

“Nephrite,” she whispered.

“You know, it’s funny how I’d never seen you use your powers during my time here, considering how close we were,” he said with a smile.

“You’re … you’re not dead,” she stuttered.

He shook his head. “No. I’m not.”

She took a step forward before she stopped herself. There was something wrong. Despite trying to reassure herself, she somehow knew.

“What’s the matter? Don’t I get a hug for coming back alive?” he asked, the smile on his face never wavering.

“There’s something wrong,” she said.

Another Terran soldier tried to strike her, but before she could release her attack on him, Nephrite raised his hand. The soldier flew backwards, landing on the ground next to him. Before the soldier could get up, Nephrite kicked him in the spine, forcing him to lay there.

“I was talking to Sailor Jupiter. Did I say you may interrupt us?” Nephrite asked coldly.

“I-I’m sorry, General,” the soldier said.

“Go find some other Lunarian to play with. Jupiter is mine,” Nephrite said.

The soldier scrambled away, leaving Jupiter and Nephrite alone.

Jupiter stared numbly throughout the whole interaction, her eyes taking in the reality but her mind refusing to accept it.

“So, where were we?” Nephrite asked, his expression returning back to warm smiles and pleasantness.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

He looked at her surprised, though it looked increasingly fake to her now. “What do you mean, Jupiter? It’s me. Nephrite. Don’t you remember?”

“You’re not him,” she said.

“Of course I am. Don’t you remember? I asked for you to wait until the riots ended and I’ll take you back to my homeland where we will get married. I’d come to fulfill my promise,” Nephrite said.

Jupiter shook her head, her eyes never straying away from his.

“Don’t you remember? I wanted to ask you to marry me, but I knew you were afraid of marriages, so I didn’t steal you away from the Moon Kingdom from under Queen Serenity’s nose,” Nephrite continued.

Jupiter continued to shake her head, and slowly, the benevolence on Nephrite’s face faded away, replaced by an ugly sneer.

“Is this how it’s going to end then, Jupiter? You were lying to me all along?” he asked, his tone of voice taking on a hint of sarcasm.

“You’re not him,” she said, angry tears welling up in her eyes, now more certain than ever that the person standing in front of her couldn’t be him.

Enraged that he dared to use her beloved’s face, she released a jolt of electricity towards him. With a flip of his halberd, he easily disintegrated the magic. He leapt in the air, raising his weapon and striking it down at her. She flipped to the side, avoiding the attack, and kicking his airborne body. However, he suddenly disappeared.

Before Jupiter could turn around, he suddenly reappeared in front of her. His hands went around her neck, and he raised her up into the air, just high enough for her feel uncomfortable but not nearly strong enough to kill her. She grabbed onto his hands, trying to prise them away, but to no avail.

“You’re no match for me, Jupiter,” Nephrite said, his eyes as cold as ice. “You never were and you never will be. You can’t even be considered a proper warrior. The people only worshipped you because you’re the only princess on that planet of yours. Did you think all those suitors were going after you because they loved you for your beauty? You? Who is so awkwardly tall, unwomanly, and much too strong? Who would want someone like that? You can’t even cook that well to be considered a mediocre wife.” He laughed. “I suppose I acted my part well, didn’t I? So well that you thought that I’m completely in love with you and you didn’t even suspect that it had been me who’d killed your brother.”

She stopped in her struggles when she heard his words, shock written all over her face. She’d never told him about her brother, so how did he …

“You thought he’d died in that storm, didn’t you? And you dare to call Terrans stupid. You Jovians aren’t much better, you know? As a member of the royal family, did you think that Prometheus could die so easily in a thunderstorm? And now you’re going to die, just like him.” He pulled her closer to him. “I’m going to burn the Moon Kingdom down to the grounds, Jupiter, and then I’m going to destroy your home planet as well. A pity that you won’t be there to see it.

He tightened his hold around her neck, the force nearly enough to snap her neck or choke her.

She closed her eyes, and as unconsciousness threatened to overcome her, she remembered the Queen, the other Senshi, and ultimately and most importantly, her Princess.

_Serenity … I’m sorry … I can’t protect you anymore …_

With determination, she opened her eyes and stared at him, no longer certain if the person standing in front of her was really Nephrite or just someone wearing his face.

Nonetheless, she knew that this was the last thing she could do for her liege.

“Supreme … Thunder!” she choked out.

At her command, lightning crashed down from the heavens, electrifying both Nephrite and Jupiter.

The hands around her neck loosened. As she fell to the floor, tears fell from her eyes. Tears because she couldn’t protect her princess. Tears because she’d lost the only person she’d loved. Tears because her home was going to be in ruins because as the guardian of protection, she’d failed.

“Jupiter …” she heard him whisper as the last breath left his body.

She couldn’t tell the emotions that accompanied his calling. Was it regret? Was it hatred? Was it recognition? She didn’t know, but it no longer mattered anymore.

Too weak to turn her head, she tried her best to look towards the direction of Serenity’s chambers, but before she could be certain that her Princess was safe, the last breath she would take during that lifetime caught in her throat and her body fell limp.

~-0-~  


 


	4. Chapter 4

******Chapter 4**

Makoto’s eyes snapped open, and she stared unseeingly ahead.

Fear, sadness, anger, and guilt concocted up an interesting feeling inside her, until she remembered that she wasn’t Jupiter anymore.

She was Makoto Kino. Her Princess was very much alive, and so was her Princess’s love. Despite Silver Millennium being destroyed, there was a new one just around the corner.

Almost numbly, she sat up in her bed, her motions reminiscent of zombies. A small part of her hollered for it to be just a dream, but there was a feeling, deep down, that it wasn’t. She knew that it was memories about her past life.

“Well … at least that answers my question of where had my confidence gone,” she muttered into the darkness.

She wondered how many people could’ve gotten out of **_that_ ** without having their confidence sorely bruised. It was quite a pity it carried on to this lifetime though.

A soft breeze blew in from the window she’d left open before she’d gone to bed, and that was when she realized that her face was wet and that she had been crying in her sleep. With a sigh, she trudged out of bed and went into the bathroom.

Looking into the mirror, she groaned. Her eyes were the size of walnuts.

“Ugh …” she murmured, turning on the faucet and splashing cold water on her face.

She wasn’t even certain her past life was something that was worth crying about anymore. Yet … apparently there was still a part of her that felt like it should.

She turned off the faucet and closed her eyes, running the memories she’d gotten back from her dreams through her mind again.

She could still feel the contrasting emotions from the two different scenes that had been presented to her in her dreams as if the events had just happened yesterday.

_“Jupiter.”_

Her head snapped upwards and she looked around, only to find that she was still alone in the bathroom. She sighed and clutched her head with one hand. Did emotions carry from one lifetime to another? If one looked at Usagi and Mamoru, they would probably say yes, but … she wasn’t so certain. Sure, she thought Nephrite looked rather handsome, but could she fall in love with him this lifetime?

_Which doesn’t really matter, since the man is dead anyway._

However, there was something inside Makoto that couldn’t let things go. Was it because the Silver Millennium Jupiter couldn’t rest in peace? But why? Was it because there wasn’t an actual closure or resolution to what had happened? After all, she’d never found out if Nephrite **_had_ ** been the one who’d killed Prometheus. Had she fallen in love with a person who had killed her brother? Had he been doing things willingly? Or had he been brainwashed? If he had been swayed by Metallia, when had it happened? Had it happened before they’d first arrived on Earth or after they’d left the ball? Everything was just so confusing to Makoto.

_It could’ve been worse … like falling in love with Zoisite …_

She recalled what she had thought about before drifting into the dreams and couldn’t hold back a snort.

“Sorry, Ami-chan,” she whispered into the empty bathroom.

Turning around, she leaned against the sink and wondered if Mamoru remembered the Shitennou as his guards. If the ones they had met at the battlefield—and Makoto was quite certain that the other Senshi had been pitted against the Shitennou they had fallen in love with during that final battle—were indeed brainwashed, she could only imagine how hurt Mamoru would be, to lose them yet again this lifetime.

Perhaps she should pay Mamoru a visit? Or should she talk to Ami first? She had no idea anymore with her mind still reeling from what she had witnessed.

She sighed again and dropped her hand to one side. For a moment, she wondered what it would feel like to have a normal life. She couldn’t quite remember how she’d lived her life before meeting Usagi, despite it being only a couple of years ago. Would she be happier as a normal girl?

She knew that the answer was a definite “no”.

Because the demons, nightmares, and heartaches were worth it when her Princess was there, beside her and happy.

Thinking about Usagi made a smile blossom on her face, and she determinedly brushed away her sadness. The past belonged in the past. Even if she did remember what had happened now, it shouldn’t affect her that much.

Though she could do well to regain some of that haughty confidence she’d had during the Silver Millennium. Since she was going to become one of the Imperial Guards of Neo-queen Serenity and King Endymion **_and_ ** High Queen of Jupiter, she might as well play her part well.

Now that was an idea that would make Rei proud of her.

With that thought in mind, she shuffled back into her room, dropped into bed, and allowed sleep to overcome her.

~-0-~

She woke up to the sound of someone ringing the doorbell. Groggily, she reached out and brought the alarm clock over to her face. Cracking open one eyelid, she groaned when she realized that it was already ten o'clock. Damn those annoying past life memories.

Pushing herself out of bed, she slouched out of her room, still in her pajamas and a blanket around her shoulders. With a tired yawn, she opened the front door, not bothering to check who it was first. Even with her half-asleep, she was pretty certain she could zap any intruder into the Ice Age after the one that would proceed the New Silver Millennium.

“You seem to have had a rough night.”

Rei’s voice surprised her, since she hadn’t been on Makoto’s list of guesses in regards to who was at the door. Makoto stared at her before noticing that Ami standing next to the raven-haired woman.

Makoto sighed. “So you knew.”

Rei raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, apparently waiting for her to elaborate.

Instead, it was Ami who spoke up, “Rei-chan called me last night. She’d known that we would go …” She trailed off, casting a look at Rei.

“Prodding around in things that should’ve been left untouched,” Rei finished for Ami. “Certain things should be left unexplored.”

“Yeah, could’ve used that advice had it come a bit earlier,” Makoto murmured.

Rei huffed as she walked past Makoto and sat down on one of the couches, letting Makoto marvel at how someone could still look so elegant and graceful while they were being so haughty. Ami, on the other hand, was the epitome of being gentle and delicate as she, too, took a seat.

Two kinds of women that she would never be.

Makoto mentally groaned. Was she really going to let a dead man’s words affect her that much? It completely went against her vow to become more confident.

“So? Are you going to tell me what happened?” Rei asked, breaking Makoto’s train of thought.

Casting a look at Ami, Makoto conveyed with her eyes that she was fine either way. After Ami gave her a nod, Makoto sighed and sat down as well. For the next two hours, the two of them filled Rei in with details of what they had gone through for the past couple of days. When they were finally finished, Makoto realized that the time was past noontime, and so she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for the three of them. No past life tragedies were worth empty stomachs.

Thankfully, **_his_ ** criticism before she’d died hadn’t affected her cooking skills. Or maybe it had for the better. Who could really tell at this point?

“So Minako never talked to you about this?” she heard Ami asking Rei.

“Of course not,” Rei said, and Makoto could almost imagine her resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “If there’s anyone who can’t get it into her own head that we’d gotten over our past lives, it’s her.”

Ami didn’t answer Rei, and Makoto could guess why she didn’t do so. The truth of the matter was that neither her nor Makoto **_could_ ** be certain that they’d gotten over their past lives, and to be honest, Makoto wasn’t sure if Rei really believed what she herself said either.

“So after that? What happened?” Rei asked after thanking Makoto for the lunch she’d handed her.

Makoto sat down and prodded her food with chopsticks, suddenly uncertain of how to tell the two of them without sounding like she was some crazy old fool who believed in dream worlds.

“This might sound stupid … but I had dreams last night,” Makoto said carefully.

Rei’s eyebrow shot upwards once more. “I look into the fire to read signs. We’re magical girls who transform by holding up pens, or in Usagi’s case, holding up a brooch, and shouting a codeword. Usagi and Mamoru, to name a few, had plenty of dreams that turned out to be significant as well. You can’t get any more mystical and non-sciencey than what I had just mentioned.”

In spite of herself, Makoto smiled, and she realized how silly she had been. Even though Rei had one of the sharpest tongues out of their group, she would always put her friends’ well-being above everything else. And seriously, Rei and Michiru knew how to read these premonitions and dreams better than anyone, so it would be dumb to not ask her about it. Therefore, Makoto decidedly told Rei about what she had dreamed.

When she was finished, she peered at Rei, trying to figure out the expression that was now on the latter’s face.

“I was afraid that was going to happen when Ami told me what the two of you had done,” Rei finally said.

“So it’s real? The dreams are real?” Makoto asked, even though she pretty much already knew the answer.

Rei lowered her eyes and nodded. “Usagi didn’t know much about our … our relationships with the Shitennou.”

She paused shortly, and Makoto wondered if it were because she didn’t know how to say her next words or because of something else.

“Out of the four of us, I know that Minako remembers the most, followed by me,” Rei continued to say. “I don’t know when she remembered though because she hides it too well. For all I know, she could’ve been pretending to not remember the Shitennou while we were fighting them. I myself, though, remembered bits and pieces afterwards, while we were fighting the Death Busters, but by then, the Dark Kingdom had already been destroyed, and since it didn’t seem like any of you remembered it, I didn’t say anything.” A wry smile appeared on Rei’s face. “I mean, who would want to remember a baby-eating Nephrite?”

Makoto’s mouth dropped open. “He does **_not_ ** eat babies.”

Ami covered her mouth to silence a giggle.

“You say he doesn’t, but I’m not very convinced, given that you were very much in love with him,” Rei said, closing her eyes and turning her nose up.

With those words, the atmosphere suddenly turned somber once more. Rei opened her eyes and glanced at Makoto when she noticed the unnatural silence.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” she asked quietly as care replaced conceit.

“He’s dead, so what difference would it make?” Makoto asked.

Something flashed through Rei’s eyes, and she said, “Stop trying to avoid the question.”

Makoto’s shoulders slumped down as she ran her finger across the rim of her plate absentmindedly. “I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “I don’t know him. At least, not in this lifetime. Besides, there are so many things that weren’t resolved in that lifetime.”

“They were brainwashed back then, like Mamoru-san was this lifetime,” Rei said evenly.

Makoto shook her head, more confused than ever. “I don’t know, Rei-chan. But … he said that my brother … I … My brother was killed so many years ago before he came to the moon, and **_he_ ** claimed to be the one who’d done it. What if he was never brainwashed? What if he had been evil all that time?”

“We don’t know if what he’d said was true or not,” Rei said. “If he was brainwashed, his main agenda would’ve been to kill all of us, so he could’ve just said that to play psychological games with you.”

Makoto fell silent as she thought over what Rei said. Then, she suddenly laughed weakly. “I would’ve thought that out of all of us, you would’ve hated them the most.”

Rei raised an eyebrow. “You do remember that Jii-san was one of the Seven Great Youma in his previous life, don’t you? What kind of hypocrite would I be if I condemned Nephrite? Especially when he showed a more human side than all of the other three combined?”

Makoto sighed, reminded of the fact that Nephrite did show feelings towards Naru. Granted, she did have Umino now, but …

Oh, what was she thinking about anyway? He was dead. Why was she even fussing over previous lives when it didn’t really matter anymore? Even if he did have feelings towards Naru, it should be understandable. After all, she couldn’t expect him to love her after thousands of years, could she?

Nonetheless, the fact that he was capable of showing kindness towards Naru while coldly killing her on the moon didn’t sit well with her. She knew it was stupid, especially when she didn’t even know him this lifetime, but it still bothered her, causing her stomach to churn whenever her mind got close to that subject.

She forced herself to push that thought to take a backseat and asked Rei instead, “Do you still love him?”

Rei looked at her from the corner of her eyes. “No. In fact, I never did love him.”

Makoto stared at her in surprise until Ami laughed softly.

“I think she meant Jadeite, Rei-chan, not Nephrite,” Ami said, the laughter not quite leaving her voice.

Makoto grabbed a pillow and threw it at Rei. “I hate you!”

Rei caught the pillow, an arrogant look on her face. “Not my fault you’d made your question so ambiguous. And no, why would I still love a misogynistic pig who’d tried to run over Usagi, Ami-chan, and me with airplanes?”

Ami’s eyes took on an amused twinkle as she said, “Didn’t you already say that they were brainwashed? He wasn’t really being himself at that time.”

A pink tinge appeared on Rei’s cheekbones and a savage look appeared in her eyes. “Don’t make me talk about Zoisite and you, Ami-chan.”

Makoto laughed, feeling the best she had for the past two days, as she watched Ami’s face turn completely red, but then she stopped when she noticed that the girl didn’t say anything to retort Rei.

Before she could ask, however, Ami changed the subject, asking Rei about what else she remembered about their past lives. It turned out that most of what Rei knew was simply logical deductions from what she’d gleaned from the fire, and therefore, she knew even less than what Ami and Makoto did.

After finishing their meals, the conversation slowed.

“I need to go back to the temple,” Rei said, looking at her watch. “An important businessman and his grandmother—”

Her voice took on a sarcastic tinge of voice at the word “important”.

“—made a reservation for special services and Jii-san needs me to be there.”

Ami murmured something about school and followed Rei to the kitchen to place the plates in the sink, knowing that Makoto preferred to wash the dishes herself. They then bade Makoto good-bye and it slightly worried Makoto when she saw that Ami’s movements were more frantic than usual.

_It’s really not sitting well with her that she’d fallen in love with Zoisite._

Therefore, she silently vowed to request for the others to not talk about it in front of Ami.

After Ami and Rei left, she cleaned up the dishes and went into her room to change out of her pajamas. Checking on the time, she nodded to herself, remembering that Usagi had mentioned that she and Mamoru would be at the latter’s apartment at this time.

In both lifetimes, Makoto had never been known as a patient woman. Since she had set her heart on getting things about her past life over and done with, she might as well do it right then and there. If there was anyone left on Earth who probably knew how Prometheus died, it had to be Mamoru.

If Nephrite was indeed innocent, then she could focus on remembering the happy times they’d had with one another. If he was the one who’d killed Prometheus, then she could safely hate his memory without feeling guilty.

Grabbing her keys, she left her apartment with a set goal in mind.

~-0-~

The moment Makoto stepped into the apartment, she had a feeling that something was off. Tingles crawled up and down her back and she could barely brush away the urge to run. It made her feel antsy and on the edge.

“Oh, so you had a few dreams and now you think you’re a fortune-teller with a sixth sense. Get real, Kino Makoto,” she muttered to herself.

Stepping into the elevator, the feeling only continued to increase until she could hardly breathe.

Perhaps this was a bad idea. Perhaps Nephrite did kill Prometheus. Or could it be even worse? Could Prometheus had been swayed to follow Beryl and therefore had gotten killed by Nephrite? Not that she needed someone to hate, but what should she do then? Should she still remember the loving brother who’d thought of her no matter where he’d go? Or should she bemoan the fact that two people she’d loved in her past life had been brainwashed by evil beings? And to be very honest, she couldn’t even be sure that the agitation she felt meant that something was wrong.

With a ding, the elevator door opened. Checking that she was indeed on the right floor, she stepped out into the hallway but didn’t immediately walk towards Mamoru’s apartment, choosing to take a couple of deep breaths first.

However, the feeling didn’t go away. In fact, her heart seemed to be insistent on pounding painfully against her ribcage. And now her feet decided that they didn’t want to walk forward.

She stood there for so long that the elevator behind her opened again, forcing her to move.

“Mako-chan …”

She whipped her head around, only to find Ami standing inside the elevator.

“Ami-chan …”

The two of them stared at one another for a while until Ami stepped out of the elevator, allowing it to close behind her. She stopped next to Makoto and glanced at Mamoru’s door before looking back at Makoto.

“I … do you have this strange feeling?” Ami asked, a frown on her delicate features.

“Tell me about it,” Makoto said with a nervous laugh. “I wanted to ask Mamoru-san a few questions, but I don’t know now. Perhaps … I should wait or something. I don’t even know.”

Ami nodded slowly and peered at Mamoru’s door again.

Makoto threw her hands up into the air. “This can’t get any worse than it already is, can it?”

Ami gazed at her silently, as if she knew that Makoto didn’t really need an answer from her. Being a Sailor Senshi usually meant that things always had the potential of getting worse regardless of how shitty a situation you were already in.

With a sigh, Makoto forced herself to move forward, and she felt rather than heard Ami following behind her.

As they got closer to the door, they could hear voices from within, signifying that there was someone, if not Mamoru or Usagi, at home.

If it was robbers, well, they were in for a big surprise.

Her hand hovered over the doorbell for just a split second before she resolutely pressed down on it. She could hear the ringing from the inside, and moments later, the door opened, revealing the bright cerulean eyes and the brilliant smile of her Princess.

Surprisingly, Usagi seemed to freeze on the spot when she saw Ami and Makoto, but she quickly recomposed herself.

“Mako-chan, Ami-chan! Er … why are you here?” she asked.

“We need to ask Mamoru-san something,” Makoto said straightforwardly.

“Oh … um … just a second,” Usagi said, almost nervously.

She turned around and ran into the apartment, calling “Mamo-chan” along the way. Makoto and Ami shared a look with one another, finding their Princess’s reaction rather strange. With a shrug, Makoto pushed open the door and entered Mamoru’s apartment with Ami in tow and promptly stopped in her tracks.

The blond-haired man sitting on the sofa choked on his tea when his eyes landed on Makoto and Ami. It was hard for Makoto to not notice that a few strands of his hair looked like they’d been singed.

“Shit,” he managed to wheeze as he grabbed tissues to wipe away the tea that had sprayed onto the table.

“For Gaea’s sake, don’t tell me that a few years inside a block of ice had rendered you incapable of drinking a simple cup of tea, Jadeite.”

The voice laced with sarcasm got louder and louder as the owner stepped out from one of the rooms and entered the living room, oblivious to the two Senshi.

Jadeite, who was still coughing, stole another glance at the two women standing at the doorway. The newcomer, upon noticing this, immediately turned his head around, and his bottle-green eyes immediately zeroed in on Ami.

“Mercury …” Zoisite whispered.

With a strangled squeak, Ami took a step back, and before anyone could react, she turned around and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind her. Zoisite instantly ran after her, but seconds later, Makoto numbly registered him storming back into the living room.

“NEPHRITE, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!” Zoisite hollered.

Upon hearing his name, Makoto felt the blood drain from her face. Contradicting feelings clashed inside her when she heard a string of creative curses being said by a familiar voice.

“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, ZOISITE?” Nephrite bellowed. “I WAS THIS CLOSE TO—”

What he was close to, nobody knew, since the words stopped the moment he stomped into the living room and his eyes met with Makoto’s.

“Mercury iced the doorknob. She **_iced_ ** the doorknob! Unfreeze it!” Zoisite whined, but Nephrite wasn’t listening to him.

His eyes remained on Makoto. After what seemed like an eternity, he took a step forward, only for Makoto to take one backwards, leaving the same amount of space between them. A pained look passed through his eyes when he saw the reluctance in her eyes.

“Nephrite!” Zoisite continued to whine.

“You know, you can just transform and jump out the window. It’ll actually be easier than taking the elevator,” Jadeite suggested.

Zoisite’s expression brightened, but before he could do so, Mamoru said, “It’s broad daylight. I prefer not to be investigated for having strange men jump out my window.”

That was when Makoto noticed that Mamoru had entered the living room with Usagi next to him. She tore her eyes away from Nephrite as her mind did its best to comprehend what was going on.

“Endyyyyy!” Zoisite complained.

“Would you stop whining?” Jadeite asked, a look of disgust on his face. “If you haven’t noticed, Jupiter is here, and it’s kind of embarrassing.”

Mamoru’s eyes slid over to Makoto, and an apologetic expression appeared on his face. However, it was another voice that spoke up

“I’m sorry that this is the condition under which you had to meet the four of us again, Sailor Jupiter.”

Stiffly, Makoto turned her head until her eyes met with those of Kunzite’s. His silver-grey eyes were kinder, she noticed, much kinder than they had been while he was under the control of Metallia.

“While I know that apologies cannot make up for all we had done, I hope that the immature actions presented to you by the three of them today would not prevent you from granting us a chance to prove ourselves worthy of your trust once more,” Kunzite continued to say.

“You’re alive. All four of you. Again,” she said, not really concentrating on the long dialogue Kunzite had just said.

“Yes, we are,” Kunzite said, slightly amused and a tiny bit wary.

“How?” she choked out.

At this, Kunzite cast an uncertain look towards Mamoru and Usagi.

“We revived them, Mako-chan,” Usagi spoke up.

Makoto’s eyes snapped over to her. “You … revived them?”

Usagi nodded. Tentatively, she walked over to Makoto and took her by the hand. “Perhaps we should talk about this alone first.”

Though she was looking at Makoto, Mamoru and the Shitennou understood what she wanted. A small part of Makoto’s mind registered how Usagi was gradually developing into the all-powerful, beautiful queen they’d had a glimpse of when they’d traveled into the future, and she couldn’t help but wonder with a bit of nostalgia how much of that crybaby teenage girl would stay the same.

Nephrite looked like he wanted to ignore the request, but with one look from Kunzite, he relented. As they walked towards the entrance, Makoto could feel Nephrite’s eyes on her, but she managed to keep her eyes on Usagi instead until she heard the door slam shut behind her.

~-0-~


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

With a gentle smile, Usagi led Makoto over to the sofa and urged her to sit down. “Would you like to drink something? Mamo-chan has a nice stash of hot cocoa in his cupboard.”

With a smile, Makoto watched as she wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a package out of the cupboard. A frown appeared on Usagi’s face as she flipped it around, trying to find some kind of sign in regards to how to actually make the powder into a drink.

_Well, it’s not like a queen actually needs to know how to cook anyway._

Rising up from the sofa, Makoto went over to where Usagi was standing and took the package from her hand. It turned out that there were no labels on the plastic bag, so Makoto took a sniff of it instead.

“Cinnamon powder,” Makoto muttered to herself.

She really needed to remind Mamoru to keep all labels on cans and packages in his apartment, or else she didn’t want to know when one of them would be sent to the hospital.

Correction, it would most likely be Mamoru, since Usagi could probably process anything with that stomach of hers.

Searching through the cupboards, she finally found the packets Usagi had been talking about and made each of them a cup of hot cocoa. The two of them then went back into the living room to sit.

After they both took a sip out of their respective cups, Usagi finally spoke.

“They were cursed, right before the brainwashed Terrans attacked Earth.”

Makoto glanced at Usagi, the hot cocoa forgotten in her hands.

“Beryl cursed them with Metallia’s power,” Usagi continued to say, gazing at Makoto. “She knew how important the four of them were to Endymion, so she believed that as long as the Shitennou were under her control, Endymion would be hers one day. Since the four of them were already brainwashed at that time, they didn’t resist her. That’s why when you, Venus, Mars, and Mercury killed them at the battlefield, they were immediately resurrected.”

Makoto narrowed her eyes in thought before saying, “That’s why they died this time around while we were fighting the Dark Kingdom, because Metallia was still sealed and not at her full power.”

Usagi nodded. “If I had lost that day, Metallia would’ve returned to full power and would have probably resurrected them again, depending on if they were useful to her or not. Given that Endymion would probably be brainwashed again after I died, Beryl probably wouldn’t have bothered. But anyway …” She smiled and shook her head. “The curse got broken after I defeated Metallia once and for all.”

“But didn’t Zoisite mention something about Jadeite ending up in a block of ice? Never mind how he ended up in there in the first place,” Makoto said.

With a giggle, Usagi explained, “It’s still a sore topic for Jadeite, which is why Zoisite would never stop talking about it. After Jadeite failed to kill or capture Ami-chan, Rei-chan, and me, Beryl encased him into a block of ice as a punishment. After I’d defeated Metallia, her power that had been keeping Jadeite alive faded away, taking his life with it. However, as one of the Shitennou, he was never a normal person. Neither were Kunzite, Zoisite, or Nephrite.”

She paused momentarily, perhaps to monitor how Makoto would react to the last name she’d mentioned; Makoto would like to imagine that she managed to keep her expression in check.

“Their souls tried to protect Mamo-chan when Galaxia attacked him,” Usagi continued to say.

Her eyes had a faraway look, and Makoto knew at that moment that it was difficult for her Princess to think of the time when she’d nearly lost her Prince.

“It was useless, of course,” Usagi said, a sad smile on her face. “As you know, Galaxia still managed to steal his star seed.”

Makoto reached over and placed a hand on Usagi’s arm. The smile on Usagi’s face brightened slightly.

“Everything’s all right now. He came back to me,” Usagi said. “And he remembered. Mamo-chan remembered how the four of them turned into stones and tried to secure his star seed, but Galaxia’s attack was too strong, and all four of them cracked.” She twisted the cup of hot cocoa around in her hands. “After Mamo-chan got resurrected, his memories from the Golden Kingdom returned and he privately mourned the loss of his generals, comrades, and brothers, thinking that they were lost.”

She glanced at Makoto again, and the latter wondered if she was thinking about the moment when she very nearly lost her Senshi as well.

“But the stones were resurrected as well after Galaxia was defeated,” Usagi continued, “and Mamo-chan kept it with him ever since.” She smiled. “I didn’t know they could talk until a couple of months ago. I accidentally knocked over the box he kept them in and accidentally stepped on Zoisite that day. Jadeite couldn’t stop laughing.”

Her cheeks turned slightly pink out of embarrassment at that memory, though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“That sounds like Jadeite,” Makoto commented.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she seemed to recall that during the Silver Millennium, the first impression that she’d had of Jadeite was that he was quite a serious young man. It was after a period of time that she found out that the man had a relaxed side that he only showed to those he was closest to.

Usagi nodded before pausing for a moment. “I didn’t remember the relationships you, V-chan, Rei-chan, and Ami-chan had with the Shitennou until recently.”

“I ...didn’t actually remember it until yesterday, too,” Makoto replied with a nervous laugh.

Usagi gazed at her. “Mako-chan? Does it bother you? Having a relationship with Nephrite-san?”

Makoto felt her cheeks burn at Usagi’s question. “Usagi-chan … I don’t actually **_have_ ** a relationship with him in this lifetime. I don’t even know him.”

Tilting her head to one side, Usagi thought about it before nodding. “True.”

A mischievous look flashed across Usagi’s face, thoroughly frightening Makoto.

“Usagi-chan,” Makoto said, her tone more helpless than threatening.

Usagi’s smile seemed innocent, but there was a sparkle in her eyes that didn’t sit well with Makoto. “Anyway …”

Makoto had a feeling that Usagi was trying to change the subject on purpose, but as the latter hadn’t actually mentioned anything, it would be awkward for Makoto to say something first, too. Therefore, she could only continue listening to Usagi’s story.

“As I was saying, I didn’t know all four pairs of you had relationship until two weeks after I found out they could talk and sort of appear, kind of like ghosts,” Usagi said. “I was actually reading manga in the living room, and they were in Mamo-chan’s room. I had no idea what they were talking about, but at one point Zoisite started annoying Jadeite, so Jadeite threatened to say something to Mercury, though I couldn’t hear what it was he wanted to tell her. Anyhow, I couldn’t understand what they were talking about, so I went in and asked them. They didn’t really want to tell me, but in the end, they figured that I might remember everything about the Silver Millennium one day, so it was a bit pointless to hide it from me.”

Makoto mulled over what Usagi had said before it hit her. “Wait … you can’t possibly mean … did you resurrect them just because we had relationships with them?”

Usagi’s eyes widened. “Of course not!” She gave pause before saying, “Well, maybe a little.”

“Usagi-chan—”

“But it’s not the only reason!” Usagi protested. “Mamo-chan missed them! He doesn’t say anything, but I know he does, and you know he doesn’t have that many friends in the first place. I just wanted him to have someone other than us or Motoki-oniisan to talk to, a couple of more guy friends to talk about guy things with him.”

However, Makoto’s mind was still stuck on the previous part of the conversation. She knew her Princess was fond of fairy tales, especially since she led a life that was as close to a real-life fairy tale as there was. What Usagi didn’t understand was that real life did not always work out like that. Not everyone got their happily ever afters.

“Usagi-chan,” Makoto said, choosing her words carefully in order to not hurt her, “just because we had relationships in our previous lives, it doesn’t mean that we have to be together during this lifetime.”

Usagi blinked, apparently confused. “But … why not?”

“Why—” Makoto stopped in her words and took a deep breath, knowing that Usagi really didn’t understand. Keeping her voice as gentle as possible, she said, “Usagi-chan, things—relationships don’t always work the way Mamoru-san and yours does. Not to mention that there are still things from the Silver Millennium that I hadn’t worked out yet. And also, like what I’ve told you already: I don’t know him this lifetime.”

“You can spend more time with him and get to know him,” Usagi said brightly. “I know he’s been waiting to see you again ever since he got his body back.”

Makoto closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. No wonder people always said to be careful what you wished for. Hadn’t she hoped that the future Queen would retain some of that carefree teen somewhere inside her? Well, she could see the same naivety and Disney-princess-like quality right here and now in front of her. The worst thing was that she didn’t even know how to explain things to Usagi in a way that she would understand.

_I’m going to need Rei-chan’s help. And Minako-chan’s. And Ami-chan’s, Haruka-san’s, Michiru-san’s, and Hotaru-san’s. For the hell of it, I should probably call in Setsuna-san and Chibiusa-chan as well._

“Mako-chan,” Usagi whined.

“I … Don’t you need to finish telling me the story first?” Makoto asked, trying to change the subject.

Usagi stared at her blankly. “Huh?”

“The story about how the Shitennou came back to life and everything, what you were talking about before we went off topic,” Makoto said.

“I was done,” Usagi said.

“No, you weren’t,” Makoto said.

“I was,” Usagi said, tilting her head to one side. “I heard them talking about the four of you, I asked them what happened, they finally told me, so Mamo-chan and I used the power of the Golden Crystal and the Silver Crystal to bring them back.”

“Oh,” Makoto said.

“Mako-ch—”

“Jadeite saw Rei already, didn’t he?” Makoto asked, before Usagi could start her pleading again.

Usagi giggled. “He went to see her at the temple earlier. I don’t think she’s very happy about it.”

Makoto snorted, remembering Jadeite’s singed hair. “Understatement, Usagi-chan.” She paused before asking, “When do you plan on telling the others?”

Upon hearing Makoto’s question, Usagi froze. “Er … I haven’t thought about it yet. Well, actually I have, but Mamo-chan suggested that I let the Shitennou learn to live in the modern world without magic first. Well, with minimal amount of magic. Nephrite still has an insane amount of money that he has access to from when he pretended to be Sanjoin Masato.” She giggled. “Zoisite and Jadeite were the first to tell Mamo-chan that they won’t forgive him if he forbade Nephrite to use the money. Even Kunzite didn’t bother telling the two of them off when they did.”

Makoto found it hard to stifle a short laugh. Then, she thought of another problem. “Have you thought about how to tell Haruka-san and the others?”

A nervous laugh escaped Usagi’s lips. “I sort of thought that I could just … tell the Shitennou to come to one of our meetings one day.”

Oh boy.

“I’m sure Haruka-san would take **_that_ ** well,” Makoto said dryly.

“I was thinking that all four pairs of you would be together at that point, so it’ll be easier for me to explain things to them,” Usagi said.

_Hint, hint, nudge, nudge._

“Well, let me know when you think of something,” Makoto said, placing the cup of cocoa on the table and standing up.

Usagi looked slightly crestfallen, and Makoto’s heart softened, reluctant to hurt her Princess in any form or manner.

“I need to go check up on Ami-chan,” Makoto said. “She … ran away when she saw Zoisite.”

“Is she okay?” Usagi asked, worried.

“Should be,” Makoto said with a shrug. “She’s just not very comfortable with the idea of being … Well, having a relationship with Zoisite is kind of freaking her out, even if it only happened in her past life.”

“Oh,” Usagi said with a frown.

Makoto could almost see the wheels of Usagi’s brain working, and she mentally groaned.

_Good luck, Ami-chan._

It wasn’t like she could try to stop Usagi when she couldn’t even try to convince the Princess from keep her nose out of Nephrite and hers situation.

After saying her good-byes, Makoto left Mamoru’s apartment. What she hadn’t expect was to see Nephrite standing in the lobby with his eyes glued to the elevator.

Her mind immediately went over the couple of options she had at hand.

One, she could risk hitting a random floor level and hoped the elevator moved before he managed to stop her. If he were as athletic as he was during the Silver Millennium, then this could be considered a stupid idea. He might even manage to break the elevator along the way, something she was sure Mamoru wouldn’t be amused about.

Two, she could make a run for the front door. There was a fifty percent chance of her making it out safely and a fifty percent chance of him catching her. However, there was also an one hundred percent chance of her being looked upon as a coward, by herself if by no one else.

Three, she could attack him and knock him unconscious, thereby avoiding confrontation. But there was also a chance that she would be seen and then the police would be called in. She could already imagine the frown on Mamoru’s face, Usagi’s nonstop whining, and the nagging she would get from the other Senshi for her not calling them in to help.

The last option was the only viable one in her opinion and it was to pretend that nothing happened and to pretend that she didn’t notice him. Given that he was the type of man that was noticeable everywhere—to be fair, all five of them, including Mamoru, would find it hard to stop people from noticing them even if they tried—anyone could see that she was pretending, but at least there was a slim chance that she could avoid talking to him.

Keeping her eyes firmly on the door behind him, she stepped out of the elevator and marched towards her way to freedom.

“Jupiter.”

She’d forgotten how confrontational he could be.

_Shit._

She wasn’t ready for this. She might be in a couple of days or maybe even a couple of hours, but she wasn’t ready to talk about this in such a short time after knowing that he was back to life.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Stiffly, she answered, “There’s nothing to talk about.”

It was a lie of course. They had **_too many_ ** things to talk about.

“I need to look for Ami-chan,” she said.

“Zoisite—”

“Which is precisely why I need to look for her,” she said fiercely, whipping her head around to finally look at him.

She really wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to face a man who was looking for acceptance. She wasn’t ready to face a man who wanted to repent to her. She wasn’t ready to face a man who had his emotions written all over his face. Most of all, she wasn’t ready to face a man who looked at her with more adoration than she had ever experienced in this lifetime.

She closed her eyes and turned away. “I need to look for her,” she repeated. “She’s not … she doesn’t know how to look at her relationship with Zoisite yet, neither is she ready to face him. We’d thought that all four of you were dead, and now you’re just standing here … he’ll need to give her time and space to accept this.”

_You’ll need to give me time and space to accept this._

Nephrite remained quiet for a while, and Makoto had no idea why she didn’t walk away right then and there, but she stayed and waited for his answer.

“I understand,” he finally said.

She nodded. Perhaps it was because she had known him in their previous lives, but he somehow knew that she wasn’t only talking about Ami but about her need for space as well.

Before she could walk away, however, he spoke again, “But I need to tell you one thing before you leave.”

She halted, her back stiff and her hands clenched into fists as she waited for him to continue speaking, almost as if she knew he was going to tell her something important.

“I lied,” he said. “I lied that day, during the war between the Terrans and the Lunarians. During that … during that … that **_moment_ ** , every single word was a lie.”

And just like that, Makoto felt all the tension leave her body. She knew what he meant, and she knew exactly which moment he was talking about.

He didn’t kill Prometheus. Dear gods, he didn’t kill Prometheus.

Forcing her voice to stay calm, she quietly asked, “How did he die?”

“Metallia attacked him,” Nephrite replied. “She tried to sway and brainwash him, but he refused. He went down fighting as a warrior would.”

Tears welled up in Makoto’s eyes and she nodded. “Thank you.”

A feeling of relief spread throughout her body at his words. However, there was a small part of her that wondered. She didn’t know Prometheus this lifetime, yet the platonic love she felt for him still lingered, as if it were imprinted into her body, soul, and heart. It was too reminiscent of how she’d felt when she first saw Usagi. She remembered when she first saw her Princess and she felt this inexplicable pull towards her, that happiness that she’d felt whenever she was around the bubbly girl. At first, she’d thought it was because Usagi was the only one who was willing to talk to her when she first arrived to Juuban Junior High, but sometimes, she did reflect on whether she would’ve felt so close to Usagi if they hadn’t known one another during their past lives.

However, with Nephrite so close to her, contemplating about emotions that might or might not carry across reincarnations was a bit too much for her to handle at the moment. Just like she had told him, she still needed a bit more time.

When she made a move to walk away again, he called out, almost frantically, “That wasn’t the only lie I’d said that day.”

Different thoughts flashed through her head, and she thought about telling him to stop, that she didn’t know if she was ready to pick up where they’d left off before he left the moon and got brainwashed. However, there was also a part of her that knew that she couldn’t continue running away. It wasn’t in her nature to do that.

Without turning around, she said to him, “We’ll talk about it later. After I check up on Ami-chan. Usagi-chan … she knows my phone number. Leave me your phone number and we’ll decide on a place and time to sit down and talk.”

With that, she walked out of the building. She didn’t turn back, but somehow, she knew that his eyes were on her until she disappeared around the corner.

Perhaps she didn’t know him this lifetime yet. Perhaps Jupiter’s love for him had fade into a dull ache in a dark corner of Makoto’s heart. Perhaps she didn’t know what secrets were waiting for her in the future. Perhaps they won’t become more intimate than friends.

But perhaps, just perhaps, they could finally resolve the obstacles that stood between them this lifetime, one problem at a time.

~-0-~

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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